You might recognize the faces up there as those of Miami beat-master Otto Von Schirach. At last night's all out music, art, and entertainment fete hosted by our sister paper Miami New Times and Miami International Film Festival Artopia, there wasn't just one Otto onstage, but three. Three is almost always better than one, so we're not complaining.
We could say the musical acts were the highlight of the event, but there were so many other things to taste and feast our eyes on at the annual affair, that pinpointing a high or low would be impossible.The converted mansion at Villa 221 is beautifully equipped with indoor and outdoor bars and a large upstairs art gallery that overlooks a sprawling backyard area. If you peered down through the windows from the gallery to the yard, you would have seen endless numbers of heads and smiling faces.
MIFF passed out popcorn with flavorful accoutrements for guests. The TM Sisters brought a performative spectacle, and Luis Valenzuela produced the fashion. There were plenty of performers hanging from trees and bouncing about in mostly Marie-Antoinette gear and even two older male geishas who were really cute and cool (call us!).
Everyone loves Boise Bob and His Backyard Band, and we regretfully only heard their rollicking swamp music while fighting for a parking spot, but they sounded great. The Notorious Nastie presented each act with his own exuberant flair. Post-punk husband and wife team Pocket of Lollipops got the crowd's heads bopping. Lolo of Sweat Records' DJing skills made them shake their hips.
The Mastermind Awards were announced with THE END/Spring Break as the big winners of the night. The nomadic arts collective of Patti Hernandez and Domingo Castillo provide artists in Miami with space to do so many wonderfully interesting and actually innovative events and activities, that it would have been a travesty (that's right) if they hadn't won. Congrats to them. It was well deserved.
This was a particularly impressive year for Artopia in Miami. We're excited by how much quality culture was brought out last night and are waiting with bated breath till the next.
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